Grinder Stand

[Puckdropper]

I've been thinking about building free standing stand for my bench grinder. One design I've been thinking about is a 4-sided tapered tower. It would be about 10" on the bottom, and angle down to around 7" at the top.

If I wanted to work with mitered corners (no box joints this time, Lew), would it simply be a matter of cutting them to complementary angles on the saw when I make the tapered pieces?

Would there be enough support to prevent tipping? I plan on using pine so I won't have the mass that the commercial versions have.

Puckdropper

[Limp Arbor]

Probably not, check the specs on this stand. The tray halfway up is a little bigger than 12 x 12.

need to build one of these bad boys for me my grinder fit nicely between the two garage door tracks so I just mounted it there on a reinforced shelf.

[Lew Hodgett]

Know somebody who can do some welding for you, maybe in exchange for some woodworking?

Neatest grinder stand I ever saw consisted of an old tire rim as a base with some 1/4" plate pieces and a piece of 2" pipe for the riser.

Stable but could be moved if necessary and ignored grinding dust.

Just a thought.

Lew

[notbob]

Adding concrete couldn't hurt.

...and ignored grinding dust.

What doesn't?

nb

[Lew Hodgett]

Another one I built from some 1/2" CDX and 2x4s.

The top, maybe 12"x15", consists of 1/2" CDX doubled with a skirt of

2x4 kicked out 5 degrees on all sides.

Legs are 2x4s with 5 degree compound cut on top.

Bottom of leg has hole drilled to accept a 1/2"-13 T-Nut and a 1/2"-13 galvanized carriage bolt with locking nut inserted.

These serve as leveling screws.

1/2" CDX gusset plates, maybe 9" x 15", attach legs to 2x4 skirt.

Painted mine bright yellow and was left outside in SoCal year around with only a tarp thrown over for protection.

It was so ugly nobody stole it which worked for me.

YMMV

Have fun.

Lew

[Lee Michaels]

I used to make gym equipment. Everything I built could be attached to the floor or a peice of plywood. Solved a lot of stability problems. Or you could make a wooden base like lathes use and stuff it with sandbags.

[Kevin]

First question: Why?

Second question: No really, why?

Why make it 10 times more difficult than it needs to be?

Why give up storage space under the grinder? I have a drawer for all the sharpening related stuff and the rest is loaded up with turning blanks.

If you ever want to mount something like the oneway grinding jig you need a platform under the wheels to mount to.

-Kevin

[Puckdropper]

Kevin wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Because I want one.

I'm using this as kind of a learning experience. Not only do I need a grinder stand, but the more complex angles would be an interesting project. Compound angles on a table saw means building a taper jig and tilting the blade. Sounds interesting.

Who says I've got to give up storage? I can still fit drawers in to the structure, even square drawers with the front face at the angle of the tower.

Maybe the idea is pointlessly complex... but it's certainly fun to think about.

Puckdropper

[Puckdropper]

Limp Arbor wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Looks like the base is around 14x14 (just a guesstimate.) That's about twice the area I had planned for. At that size, I'd be worried about the base being so far out it's difficult to get to the tool. I guess that's why cabinets have toe kicks, though.

That's got potential (for someone else's shop) especially if the tops are the same height as the table saw! The tools could hide away nicely, and there'd be plenty of infeed/outfeed tables.

Hey, that's not a bad idea! If I had some spare wall space, that'd be an easy way to go.

Puckdropper

[basilisk]

Along this same line is to use a semi truck brake drum, not too large in diameter and very heavy(stable). Truck repair shops will usually let you have them for scrap price as they are otherwise useless.

basilisk

[Jack Stein]

Thats pretty much how I feel about all tool stands. Someone, and I've seen it many times, suggest building a bench for your lathe and loading it with sand bags? Seems lame to me when a lathe bench is perfect place for a multi-drawer bench that stores all your lathe tools and accessories.

I do like the flip top designs for occasional use tools. For example, I have a bench top mortiser that I'd love to have mounted in a flip top. Probably wouldn't mind doing the same with my grinder. Not sure how to go about making the flip top.

[-MIKE-]

I'm the mechanic for our house, too, and I use regular car discs for this kind of thing (and exact thing) all the time.

[Phisherman]

I recall an inexpensive home-built grinder stand, made from two ply squares, two PVC flanges, and PVC pipe. Fill the PVC pipe with sand for weight and vibration control. With a flared base, I wondered how you can get close to the wheel? Grinder stands are typically tippy, so more weight will help.

[Puckdropper]

Phisherman wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'll definately rethink the design to include a more secure mounting (the wall) or weight. I did screw the grinder down to the table when I was using it regularly, so it does tend to vibrate around quite a bit.

Thanks everyone.

Puckdropper